Ors Navarro Named Student-Athlete of the Week

November 11, 2024 11:21 AM | General, Men's Soccer, Men's Swimming & Diving, Rifle, Women's Basketball, Cross Country, Rowing, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving, Volleyball, Wrestling

By: Elizabeth Stash

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After scoring the game-winning goal in the Sun Belt quarterfinals, graduate student Sergio Ors Navarro has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Ors Navarro scored in the 82nd minute against Georgia Southern to lead the Mountaineers to a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the Eagles in the Sun Belt quarterfinals. It was the 13th goal of the season for Ors Navarro and fourth game-winning goal.

The clinching goal added to a big week for the Castellon, Spain native as he was named Sun Belt Player and Offensive Player of the Year, the first Mountaineer to earn the honor. He finished the regular season with a league-leading 28 points, including 12 goals, tied for most in the conference.

The Mountaineers advance to the Sun Belt semifinals against Kentucky on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Kickoff from Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is set for 7 p.m.

This Week in Men's Soccer: West Virginia hosts the Sun Belt semifinals on Wednesday evening at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium ... the top-seeded Mountaineers will face Kentucky at 7 p.m. ... the winner of Wednesday's contest will face either Marshall or James Madison on Sunday 1 p.m. ... if the Mountaineers advance to the Sun Belt final, it will be played in Morgantown.

Last Week in Men's Soccer: The Mountaineers clinched the Sun Belt regular season title on Tuesday with a 0-0 draw at No. 8 Marshall ... the draw gave WVU 19 points in the Sun Belt standings to finish two points ahead of the Thundering Herd ... redshirt-senior Marc Bonnaire made three saves to earn his seventh clean sheet of the season ... West Virginia then faced Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt quarterfinals on Sunday, winning 3-2, scoring three unanswered goals ... junior Marcus Caldeira, senior Carlos Hernando, and graduate student Sergio Ors Navarro each scored goals in the victory ...seniors Frederik Jorgensen and Dante Huckaby collected assists.

Notes: West Virginia won the Sun Belt regular season title for the first time ... it is the third regular-season conference championship for the Mountaineers after winning the Big East in 2006 and the MAC in 2018 ... Ors Navarro was named the Sun Belt Player and Offensive Player of the Year, the first Mountaineer to take home the honor ... graduate students Max Broughton and Ryan Baer each were named to the All-Sun Belt First Team alongside Ors Navarro ... Bonnaire and Caldeira earned spots on the All-Sun Belt Second Team ... head coach Dan Stratford was named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year for the first time ... the NCAA Men's Soccer Selection Show will take place on Monday, Nov. 18, at 1 p.m.

This Week in Women's Soccer: The Mountaineers will learn their fate in the 2024 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament ... the NCAA Selection Show is set for Monday, Nov. 11, at 4 p.m. ET, while the First Round will commence Nov. 15-17.

Last Week in Women's Soccer: West Virginia was off last week.

Notes: WVU is looking to make its 23rd appearance in the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament ... the Mountaineers currently rank No. 30 in the NCAA RPI following last weekend's matches ... junior forwards Ajanae Respass and Taylor White lead West Virginia with seven goals each, while Respass holds the team lead with 19 points ... Respass ranks eighth in the conference with three game-winning goals this season ... fifth-year senior Lilly McCarthy paces WVU with five assists, ranking ninth in the Big 12 in total assists and assists per game (0.32).

This Week in Volleyball: The Mountaineers welcomes No. 11 Arizona State to the WVU Coliseum on Nov. 14, first serve is slated for 7 p.m. ET, in Morgantown ... West Virginia will then host Arizona on Nov. 17 for the squads' 50 Year and Alumni Celebration, Sunday's first serve will be at noon.

Last Week in Volleyball: West Virginia fell to Cincinnati, 3-0 on Nov. 7 in Cincinnati, Ohio ... the squad was led by redshirt junior outside hitter Cassidy Tanton who notched 13 kills while hitting .345% ... senior outside hitter Hailey Green also tallied 13 kills, while junior middle blocker Laila Ibrahim added eight of West Virginia's nine total blocks.

Notes: WVU ranks No. 2 in the Big 12 with 150 service aces in 93 sets, averaging 1.61 aces per set ... Tanton comes in at No. 8 in the league with her 34 services aces in 93 sets, averaging 0.37 aces per set ... additionally, sophomore setter Alexis Finnvold is tabbed at No. 10 in service aces with 0.34 aces per set ... Ibrahim checks in at No. 7 in the Big 12 with her 99 total blocks in 89 sets, averaging 1.11 blocks per set ... graduate student libero Sydney Reed rounds out the league rankings for West Virginia, as she sits at No. 10 in the conference with 333 digs on the year in 93 sets, for 3.58 digs per set.

This Week in Cross Country: West Virginia is set to compete at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships on Nov. 15 ... this year's regional race will be hosted by Penn State at the Blue and White Courses in University Park, Pennsylvania ... the women's 6k will kick off at noon ET ... the Mountaineers will face No. 8 Georgetown and No. 20 Penn State at the regional championship meet on Friday.

Last Week in Cross Country: The Mountaineers did not compete.

Notes: The Mountaineers were named No. 5 in the NCAA DI Women's Cross Country National Coaches' Poll last week on Nov. 5 ... West Virginia picked up the ranking after claiming second place at the Big 12 Championships on Nov. 1, capturing 56 team points ... the race was highlighted by senior Ceili McCabe who earned her third Big 12 title, running a personal and program best time of 19:02.6 in the women's 6k.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia is off ... the Mountaineers return to action in the WVU Invitational from Nov. 20-22.

Last Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia was off.

This Week in Rifle: West Virginia returns to action against defending NCAA National Champions TCU at Noon ET on Saturday inside the WVU Shell Building.

Last Week in Rifle: West Virginia competed in two matches over the weekend, collecting as many wins and earning their fourth against a ranked foe … WVU defeated No. 16 Army on Saturday 4752-4678 … WVU then defeated John Jay 4736-4229 to close out their weekend … Natalie Perrin produced a perfect 600 in air rifle during the match against Army to become the ninth Mountaineer in program history to accomplish the feat.

Notes: The Mountaineers have won 20 straight regular season matches … Jon Hammond collected his 200th career win against No. 5 Georgia Southern … the Mountaineers' 4739.5 aggregate score is tied for the best in the nation with Alaska Fairbanks. The 2355 mark in smallbore is the best while the 2384.5 sits second … Gavin Barnick is averaging a team-leading 1186.2 aggregate average which is the fifth best in the country … Barnick and Griffin Lake average a 589.8 and is the seventh best in the nation… Camryn Camp's air rifle mark of 596.6 is the ninth best in the country.

This Week in Women's Basketball: The Mountaineers stay home for two more nonconference matchups … West Virginia renews the Backyard Brawl on Tuesday, Nov. 13, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. ET … the Mountaineers then welcome SEC member Texas A&M for a contest on Friday, Nov. 16, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. ET … Tuesdays game will be a gold rush while Fridays game will be a coal rush.

Last Week in Women's Basketball: The Mountaineers opened the season with two home wins … WVU first defeated Towson 85-41 on Tuesday before besting Niagara 110-41 on Saturday … Jordan Harrison led the scoring effort in both games, dropping a WVU career-high 23 points in the season opener and then added 21 points against Niagara … the 110 points scored are the third most all-time in program history while the 44 turnovers forced marks the second most ever.

Notes: WVU returns eight student-athletes to the floor this season, including four of five starters from an NCAA Tournament team a season ago … All-Big 12 First Team and Defensive Team selection JJ Quinerly highlights the returners … She was also named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team and was named to the Naismith College Women's Basketball Player of the Year and the 2025 Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year Watchlist … Jordan Harrison was named to the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year watchlist… The Mountaineers also add six newcomers to round out the squad's 14 women team … Zya Nugent scored her 1000th career point against Niagara.

This Week in Wrestling: West Virginia battles Rider in its first road dual of the season on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ … two days later, two-time All-American and fifth-year senior Peyton Hall (165) and sophomore All-American Ty Watters (149) travel to State College, Pennsylvania, to compete
at the 2024 NWCA All-Star Classic inside Rec Hall on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. … Hall takes on 2024 All-American Hunter Garvin of Stanford in a rematch from last year's NCAA Championships, while Watters faces 2023 All-American Shayne Van Ness of Penn State.

Last Week in Wrestling: No. 18 WVU scored a 35-10 win over Glenville State on Wednesday night … the Mountaineers scored five straight bonus-point victories to hold a commanding 24-0 lead at the midway point of the dual … they added two more in the form of a 18-3 technical fall by fifth-year Hall at 174 pounds, three matches prior to fifth-year senior Michael Wolfgram pulling off the first pin of the night in the second period of the heavyweight bout to conclude the home opener.

Notes: For the second straight week, the West Virginia University wrestling team appeared in the first regular-season edition of the NWCA Division I Coaches Poll, checking in at No. 18 … WVU moved up one spot after opening the 2024-25 campaign at No. 19 in the preseason edition of the coaches' poll … this marked the Mountaineers' first appearance in the preseason poll since 2016 and fifth and fifth time overall – 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2016 … additionally, Hall and Watters join Jim Akerly (1987), Scott Collins (1991), Mark Banks (1991), Keith Taylor (1994), Dean Morrison (1994), Mike Mason (1998), Vertus Jones (1999), Ryan Kehler (2001), Greg Jones (2003, 2004 and 2005) and Zeke Moisey (2015) as the 11th and 12th Mountaineers to be featured on the card of the annual NWCA All-Star showcase … it's also the third time that West Virginia has sent two grapplers to compete at the event in the same year (1991 and 1994).

Last Week in Rowing: West Virginia has concluded its fall season.

Last Week in Rowing: The Mountaineers competed with split squads as the varsity team scrimmaged Duquesne on Saturday, Nov. 9, on the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, while the novice squad raced in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, in the Bucknell Novice Regatta on Sunday, Nov. 10, on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River.